College Selection: The Financial Reality Check

Essential Question: How do financial, academic, and personal factors influence the complex decision-making process of choosing a college?

Learning Target: I can determine if my top college choices make financial sense by analyzing real data on costs, financial aid, and future salary projections.

Vocabulary:

• Cost of Attendance (COA): The "sticker price" before any financial aid is applied.

• Net Price Calculator (NPC): The tool that estimates the actual price you will pay.

• Common Data Set: The official, unfiltered academic and financial data reported by the university.

• Return on Investment (ROI): The financial payoff of your degree compared to the debt it takes to get it.

PHASE 1: DO NOW (Four Corners)

Time: 5 Minutes (1 minute to move, 4 minutes to discuss)

Prompt: "A student should always enroll in the highest-ranked school that accepts them, regardless of cost." Instructions: No Writing: Mentally process your stance on the prompt. Move (1 min): Physically move to the corner that matches your stance (Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree). Discuss (4 min): Talk with your group. Build a unified argument for why you chose this corner. Prepare to Defend: Be ready to defend your corner's position to the class. (Sentence Starter: "Our group chose this corner because..." or "The biggest risk with this approach is...")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec9FSxwPea0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDuygY5j0P4

PHASE 2: PLACEMAT PROTOCOL

Instructions: "Write Before You Speak" You must write your independent thoughts silently on your table's organizer before any group discussion begins. Read the prompt assigned to your specific table: Tables 1 & 2: Why might a student logically choose to take out massive loans to attend a "Reach" school? Tables 3 & 4: What are the strategic pros and cons of committing to your "Comfy" (Target) school? Tables 5 & 6: Beyond just guaranteed acceptance, why might a high-achieving student choose to enroll in a "Safety" school? Active Listening: After the 3-minute silent writing timer goes off, share your thoughts round-robin style. Do not interrupt. Be ready for whole-class cold calls.

Write your ideas first for 3 min: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiZkk4xdANg Each student shares with group, total of 3 minutes, everyone must talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiZkk4xdANg Come up with team answer that includes multiple perspectives (middle post-it) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_GpIJFM51k

PHASE 3: DIGITAL DATA EXTRACTION & ANALYSIS

Time: Independent Work

Instructions:

1. Open your Chromebooks and access the "Dr. U College Project" master Google Slides.

2. Create a perfect 1:1 match of the 10-slide exemplar using your specific assigned college.

3. Use the Mission Checklist to ensure your slides hit every required level of analysis.

The Mission Checklist (Success Criteria): [ ] DOK 2 (The Hard Facts): I found the exact SAT/GPA requirements and AP credit rules hidden in my school's Common Data Set. [ ] DOK 3 (The Stress Test): I ran the Net Price Calculator using three different family income levels ($100k, $80k, $67k). [ ] DOK 3 (The Real Cost): I successfully identified my true "Net Price" and did not get fooled by the "Sticker Price." [ ] DOK 4 (The Payoff): I projected my Return on Investment (ROI) by comparing my expected college costs to the starting salary of my major.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuVa27WISyo

PHASE 4: EXIT TICKET

Time: 5 Minutes

Prompt: "Now that we have looked at the hard data, would you change your original Four Corners answer? Why or why not?" Instructions: Return to your table's Placemat group. Independently write your final reflection on your own paper. Requirement: You must justify your answer using at least one specific piece of economic evidence (like Net Price, Return on Investment, or financial aid brackets) discussed today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgnDbQ1aM54